July 13 is a huge day in Washington’s NFL history.
Two primary events occurred on July 13 in the Washington Commanders‘ history.
July 13, 2020: Official Statement on name and logo
Five years ago, on July 13, 2020, the Washington Redskins issued an official statement announcing their intention to retire the team’s name and logo. The franchise had become the “Redskins” in 1933 when then-owner George Preston Marshall determined he would not play his second season at Braves Field in Boston, Massachusetts. You see, the NFL Boston Braves had begun in 1932 and shared Braves Field with the MLB Boston Braves.
However, in 1933, Marshall felt it was best for business to relocate his football team’s games to Fenway Park for the NFL’s regular season. Wanting to further separate from the MLB Boston Braves, Marshall determined he would also change the name of this NFL team.
Seeing Fenway Park already host the Boston “Red Sox”, Marshall thought it clever marketing to alter his team’s name slightly. When his decision was final, Fenway Park would now host the “Red Sox” and the “Redskins.” For the next four NFL seasons, the “Redskins” indeed played their home games at Boston’s Fenway Park, before moving to Washington in 1937. Therefore, the NFL franchise was the “Redskins” from the 1933 NFL season through the 2019 NFL season.
July 13, 1999: Redskins Sale Finalized
Did you remember that July 13, 1999, also holds a pivotal day in Washington Redskins history? Yes, it was July 13, 1999, that the Washington Redskins sale was finalized from the Jack Kent Cooke family to a young 34-year-old entrepreneur, Daniel Snyder. To illustrate the dramatic change in money over 25 years, the sale was reported to have been for $800 million, which at the time was the most ever spent on a sports franchise.
Snyder, who had grown up a fan of the team during George Allen’s successful seasons from 1971 to 1977, said he was excited to become the owner of the Redskins, calling it “a lifelong dream.”
No sooner had he taken ownership of the NFL Redskins than he apparently wanted to convey to everyone he was in charge, so he fired what was reported to have been 25 front office and office employees, working in the public relations and business departments.
Those of us who were adults at the time (I was age 36) shrugged it off, thinking, ‘Surely the team must have been overstaffed and he sees a way to streamline some of this work through new avenues like the internet.’
But then, when general manager Charley Casserley also resigned in a shocking announcement only one week later, I am not revising history; that was the first time, I thought, ‘What is going on?’ Of course, I had no idea what was transpiring, nor did I have any idea of how bad of an owner, a leader, Daniel Snyder would be.
I recall rationalizing that Casserley had been with the Redskins since joining the team under George Allen and had worked his way up from scout to assistant general manager under Bobby Beathard to general manager. He was age 50, had made some good money, perhaps he felt he needed to spend time with his wife and family.
Little did I know…little did any of us know…
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Two significant events on this day for Commanders’ franchise